It’s not uncommon to find elements of 3D printing woven into the fashion world from the famous Dita Gown that started it all to Chanel’s 3D printed suits. At the annual Met Gala, where the dress code and exclusive guest list invites the most extravagant outfits to the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the technology enabled some of the most striking looks at this year's event.

The theme was 'Camp: Notes On Fashion' and U.S. designer, Zac Posen created a number of 3D printed garments and accessories inspired by the concept of freezing natural objects in motion. The pieces were developed over a six-month period in collaboration with experts from GE Additive and Protolabs, expanding on Posen’s vision of incorporating cutting-edge technology and innovation with sophisticated style.

“The Met Gala is special for designers because it’s the biggest fashion event in the world. This year it is particularly special because we’re working with GE Additive and Protolabs to 3D print ideas that are unachievable using fabric,” Posen commented. “For me, science, engineering and art all work together. That’s why standing at the forefront of 3D printing is so important.”

The pieces - four gowns, a headdress and a number of structural elements - were worn by guests Jourdan Dunn, Nina Dobrev, Katie Holmes, Julia Garner and Deepika Padukone, and took over 1,500 hours to manufacture.

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Clear bustier was 3D printed in four pieces.

A clear 3D printed bustier worn by actress Dobrey was printed in four pieces and finished by wet sanding and sprayed to give an almost water-like glass appearance. Meanwhile, actresses Holmes and Garner each sported exaggerated accessories including a palm leaf collar attached to a custom gown produced with SLA and finished in pearlescent purple paint, and a vine headpiece with berry embellishments, printed in a single piece with HP’s Multi Jet Fusion and finished with brass plating.

The technology was also utilised to produce 408 intricate embroidery pieces for a metallic pink gown worn by Bollywood star, Padukone. The embroidery was printed in plastic, vacuum metalised, and painted. Posen also created a number of printed accessories including brooches and cufflinks.

The majority of the garments were manufactured at Protolabs’ additive manufacturing facilities in the U.S. and Germany, while the titanium cage for the rose gown was printed at the GE Additive Technology Center in Cincinnati.

Daniel Cohn, General Manager of Protolabs, added: “Designers are no longer limited by traditional manufacturing processes, where a project would be curtailed by questions like ‘can a part be cut to this shape’ or ‘can it suspend itself under its own weight’. What we have here is a very pure design process, from concept to physical part."